Legal Assistant

SGI is a company that values integrity and innovation, and they are seeking a Legal Assistant to support their Legal department. The successful candidate will be responsible for preparing legal documents, coordinating legal files, and providing administrative support while maintaining legal filing systems and responding to inquiries.

Responsibilities

• Drafts legal documents such as Statements of Claim, Statements of Defence, Affidavits, Examination for Discovery Reports and Motion Records
• Drafts correspondence to insureds, third parties, opposing counsel, services providers and various courts
• Proofreads and formats various documents
• Organizes and groups documents for claims files
• Conducts corporate profile report, property or security searches
• Researches case law for coverage issues and legal precedents
• Advises and responds to insureds, opposing counsel, court agents and adjusters on the company’s position on files and the status of legal actions
• Monitors the progress of instructions and requests to adjusters and counsel
• Coordinates and schedules discoveries, mediations, pretrials, trials, conferences and so on
• Coordinates the filing and service of documents on opposing parties with various court offices and process servers
• Initiates, tracks and conducts investigations such as locating insureds, witnesses and third parties
• Manages lawyer calendars, including booking and confirming motions, transportation, flights and hotels
• Performs accounts payable/receivable functions for the Legal department
• Prepares and distributes regulatory and legal compliance reports
• Performs general office duties (e.g., faxing, copying, scanning and filing)
• Maintains the Legal department’s procedures, filing systems, databases and library
• Actively contributes to and supports a culture of a high performing workforce
• Participates in divisional succession plans, ensuring ongoing professional and career development and supports development in others
• Supports a culture of leadership and accountability to effectively deliver on strategic and corporate strategies
• Is actively committed to leadership development across the company, supporting team and workforce readiness through mentoring, training and developmental opportunities
• Enables the success of programs and policies that are in alignment with corporate, strategic and divisional strategies
• Manages risk in area of authority
• Ensures that the Health, Safety and Emergency Management Policy is applied in area of responsibility

Skills

• One-year certificate from an accredited post-secondary institution in a relevant field of study such as Legal Studies
• 1 – 2 years of directly related experience
• Knowledge of the terminology, principles and procedures of Canadian insurance law
• Knowledge of the functions and jurisdictions of local, provincial and federal courts and agencies
• Knowledge of legal document formatting requirements
• Knowledge of litigation procedures and processes, including the Rules of Civil Procedure
• Skill in preparing standardized written material, including routine legal correspondence, pleadings memos and reports
• Ability to conduct legal research

Company Overview